While instruction for the Citizen Police Academy is based on training an officer would receive and is taught by officers and certified police instructors, it is not designed to train students as police officers, Mendel said.

“It just gives us a face,” she said. “It’s just more fun than a police officer should be allowed to have.”

She said the Citizen Police Academy also creates a community bond between students and the police department: 25 percent of Citizen Police Academy graduates become volunteers with the police department.

Applicants to the Citizen Police Academy must be 18 years or older, and are subject to a background check. Classes are held 6:30 to 9 p.m. beginning Feb. 6 at the Delaware Police Department. Applications for the Citizen Police Academy are available at www.delawareohio.net/departments/Police/Citizen_Police.aspx. For more information, call 740-203-1132 or email Officer Rita Mendel at rmendel@delawareohio.net.